Ewan McGregor has two very different ideas for getting Obi-Wan Kenobi back on screen. One reaches into the painful years after Revenge of the Sith; the other brings his character surprisingly close to Hera Syndulla. Both came up while he was talking about how much he still enjoys playing the Jedi. But the exact words and the timeline behind them matter much more than the headline suggests.
What Ewan McGregor Actually Said
The first fact to make clear is that Lucasfilm has not announced a new Obi-Wan Kenobi movie or another season of the Disney+ series yet.
In an August 19 interview at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, McGregor told Variety that he had shared ideas with Dave Filoni. McGregor described the conversation as “very casual.”
His first thought was about Yoda. McGregor pointed to the period after Episode III, when the surviving Jedi scattered across the galaxy. Obi-Wan had not been in contact with Yoda, but he knew the Jedi Grand Master was still out there. McGregor suggested that there could be a story about Obi-Wan trying to reach him.
McGregor was much firmer about one thing: he would gladly play Obi-Wan again. He said he enjoyed making the series and still sees Obi-Wan as a very good character to play.
The Yoda Idea Fits Canon If “Reach Out” Does Not Mean a Simple Road Trip
The basic setup is valid. After Order 66, Obi-Wan went into exile on Tatooine to watch over Luke Skywalker. Yoda hid on Dagobah, a remote swamp world where he could escape Imperial attention. The official StarWars.com Databank describes Dagobah as Yoda’s home during his final years and a place where he remained hidden from the Empire.
There is also plenty of time to tell another story. The official announcement for Obi-Wan Kenobi placed that series ten years after Revenge of the Sith. Obi-Wan would remain alive until the events of A New Hope, while Yoda would stay on Dagobah until Luke found him in The Empire Strikes Back.
The problem is not whether both characters existed. The problem is what they were supposed to be doing.
Obi-Wan was not wandering the galaxy in search of Jedi survivors. He had accepted a very specific duty: protect Luke without exposing him. Yoda’s safety also depended on staying invisible. If Obi-Wan physically tracked him to Dagobah for a reunion, the story would need a strong reason for two of the Empire’s most wanted Jedi to risk creating a trail between their hiding places.
That is why “trying to reach out” is more interesting than “tracking down Yoda.” It could mean a failed transmission, a coded message, a Force vision, or spiritual contact guided by Qui-Gon Jinn. The end of the Disney+ series already moved Obi-Wan toward deeper communion with Qui-Gon. A follow-up could use that growth to explore how Obi-Wan and Yoda endured defeat without placing them together for a large action mission.
There is real drama in that idea. These are two survivors carrying enormous guilt. Yoda watched the Jedi Order fall after centuries of leadership. Obi-Wan lost Anakin, the Republic, and almost everyone he knew. Their hope rested on two children whom they could not openly train or even approach safely.
A strong story would make contact difficult rather than easy. Obi-Wan might need Yoda’s guidance but be unable to receive a clear answer. Yoda might sense him through the Force yet refuse a meeting because protecting Luke and Leia matters more than easing their loneliness. That would add meaning to their exile instead of turning it into another secret adventure.
The Hera “Love Story” Was McGregor Having Fun
McGregor’s second idea should not be treated as a serious Lucasfilm rumor.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead, McGregor’s wife, plays Hera Syndulla in Ahsoka. McGregor told Variety that he became excited when she joined the series and imagined Obi-Wan and Hera as “the big love story.” He then joked that time does not mean much in Star Wars “multiverses,” while also admitting that the characters were in different time frames.
The timeline is slightly more complicated than saying Obi-Wan and Hera never lived at the same time. According to Hera’s Canon history, she was born in 29 BBY. That means she was alive during Obi-Wan’s years in exile. In fact, Star Wars Rebels places Hera’s rebel cell in the same broad era as the older Obi-Wan’s final years.
However, the live-action Hera played by Winstead in Ahsoka belongs to the New Republic period after Return of the Jedi. Obi-Wan had already died aboard the Death Star years earlier. Putting those exact live-action versions into a normal romance would require time travel, an alternate continuity, or a non-canon story.
It would also collide with the emotional history that Hera already has. Kanan Jarrus was her partner and the father of her son, Jacen. The official StarWars.com feature on Hera calls Kanan her fallen love and identifies Jacen as their child. The official Hera Databank entry makes the same family connection clear.
A romance with Obi-Wan would therefore be more than a cute crossover. It could weaken one of the central relationships in Rebels, complicate Jacen’s family story, and force the timeline to serve an actor pairing rather than the characters. As an interview joke, it is charming. As Canon, it would create far more problems than it solves.
What a Strong Obi-Wan Return Would Actually Need
A new Obi-Wan story should answer one question: What can we learn about him that the existing films and series have not already shown?
The Disney+ series began with a broken man who had cut himself off from the Force. It ended with Obi-Wan regaining purpose, helping Leia, confronting Vader, and finally seeing Qui-Gon’s spirit. A New Hope later presents him as calm, patient, and ready to sacrifice himself so Luke can escape.
The remaining story is not another rematch. It is the quieter transformation between those two versions of Obi-Wan.
Yoda could support that journey without becoming a co-star in a conventional team-up. Obi-Wan’s attempt to contact him could test patience rather than lightsaber skill. Yoda could challenge him to stop seeking reassurance and trust the Force. Qui-Gon could help Obi-Wan understand that watching over Luke is not passive failure but a long act of faith.